Advantages

Disadvantages

A wonderful and heart warming contribution to the Harry Potter franchise

This is the 6th Harry Potter film and illustrates Harry''s 6th year at Hogwarts. The film is a direct follow on of Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, and picks up directly where the 5th film left off. The collection of actors in this film make it one of the best films in British history, and JK Rowlings insist of the film only including British actors really makes it something for Britain to be proud of. The film is filled with comedy, action, adventure and romance and is filled with emotion from start to finish. Although it goes into less detail than the book, this film adaption tells us all we need to know about Harry''s sixth year at Hogwarts and really illuminates the story from page to screen. The film is my personal favorite out of all the Harry Potter''s as we really see the characters develop as regards to their relationships with each other and personal issues they face. We specifically see an increase in the relationship between Harry and Dumbledore, two iconic characters of the whole collection of films. The film contains some upsetting scenes which may not be suitable for young children. There are also scenes which my younger niece found to be scary, this is something to look out for towards the end of the movie when Harry and Dumbledore go on their little adventure. However, scary scenes and upsetting scenes are not a new notion when it comes to the Harry Potter films, so if you enjoy the other films then this is a definite must watch. The film takes me back to my childhood and offers a sense of comfort, and a feeling of being involved in the films story itself.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A moving film, important to progression of the Potter story.

In 2009, the 6th Harry Potter movie was released, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Harry is about to enter his 6th year of education at Hogwarts. We last saw him in film 5 and he was attacked by evil Lord Voldemort alongside Professor Dumbledore within the Ministry for Magic. Chronologically, this film appears to start in exactly the same place with a very shell shocked Harry and Dumbledore reunited and being photographed by reporters as the reception area of the Ministry building lies in complete tatters.

We see Harry, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts to continue their education. Harry has a new teacher, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) to teach potions - a subject Harry has previously been poor in, but he flourishes thanks to a textbook once owned and annotated by someone called the Half Blood Prince - is this Lord Voldemort's book as Harry's friends fear?

This is a funny year for the group. There is a lot of focus on the fact that Voldemort is stronger and gathering support for himself. We see Harry and Dumbledore spending a lot of time trying to get to know why he is as he is, and Dumbledore encourages Harry to join in with him as he tries to stop Voldemort becoming powerful. We discover that as a boy he learned how to perform a spell which makes him pretty much invincible, but by Harry and Dumbledore working hard together they may be able to stop him.

I found the character of Draco Malfoy suddenly a lot more interesting this year. He suddenly seems a lot more grown up thanks to him being approached by Voldemort to work for him, and we see him work throughout the months that pass to perform a task for Voldemort.

This film takes the same dark approach as the previous film did. David Yates directing style in the final four films is a lot more dramatic than the first four films, but then again the source material in the novels were also darker in books 4-7. You know something big is coming, but it is not entirely eluded to. We see a bigger presence on screen of some of the evil characters who support Voldemort such as Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix LeStrange, and for the first time Draco's mother is seen on screen.

I found bits of this film very sad to watch. When the book was released, much fuss was made because one of the main characters was going to die. This was pretty traumatic to read, but on screen, it was awful to watch when we got to this point and saw how this affected the remaining characters.

CGI effects are still a big part in this film, particularly as we see Potter and Dumbledore go searching for a Horcrux in a dark cave. Animation is seamless so everything looks alive, though I did feel that it reminded me a bit of Gollum from Lord of the Rings in the movement of the animated creatures in this scene. There is certainly some plot points here and in the later events to this story that had both myself and my husband thinking to scenes from the other trilogy. The cynic in me can't help making the links. One animated scene early on in the film sees Dumbledore repair a trashed Muggle house using magic, and I found it particularly stunning to watch. I find I almost forget it is animation and almost like it is watching magic being performed before my eyes.

This film is very important in developing Snape's character, and Voldemorts, and the events that occur directly influence the way the plot moves on into the Deathly Hallows Parts One and Two. Not watching this one or reading the book would leave some gaps in your knowledge and spoil the plot progression in my opinion. I find this one less visually stunning out of the 4 Yates Potter films, and perhaps a bit less pacey, but there are still plenty of moments to shock, and anyone who is a Potter fan will be moved watching it.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

really dislied them

beware, this contains a few spoilers so don't read unless you're willing to find our bits you may not want to know

I don't understand how lovers of the books rave so much about these movies?!There are so many flaws that don't need to be in it, where things have been taken out that are vital in creating the atmosphere or the need for emotion. Where extra unnecessary things are put in for the use of special effects that I personally find to detract from the storyline.Don't get me wrong, I do love the books and I do know that there are some plot holes in Rowling's actual writing.

The acting of Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson is not something I find to be believable in many of the films, but in the final one they have got better. Rupert Grint has just got exceptionally better and better throughout the course of each movie. Where, Watson's character Hermione, is the rope that binds the trio together , I found that the actual acting of Grint made it bearable to be watched; he bought the character or Ron Weasley to life through his perfect way of creating humour, emotion and seriousness in different ways.Whereas one of the few times when Hermione and Harry were bought together was when they were about to kiss in the first part of The Deathly Hallows. However, this ruined the scene for me as it was nowhere supposed to happen, Harry even says it himself "I love her like a sister", whey the HELL would they kiss?In all of the films, I found that they adults were by far the best actors, as they should be when they were huge stars in other films too. However, I found that in the final film , there was something lacking in all of their performances. Except Alan Rickman's portrayal of Severus Snape. Rickman is known to play the bad guys in many films, and in this one he doesn't fail. He pulls of the role of the sneering, disgusted, nasty teacher perfectly.The character of Neville Longbottom, played by Matthew Lewis, really grew in this final movie, it gave a great tribute to the character that Neville had become in the novels. The only thing I had a problem with was where they had added something about him being "mad for Luna", why not make something like that implied, rather than trying to force comedy in at bits where it was meant to be panicky.

The thing that most ticked me off about the final film was that Harry and Voldermort were able to suddenly feel the horcruxes being destroyed. 1) This didn't happen in the book!2) This didn't happen in the other films leading up to it!3) It didn't happen in the book because he wasn't supposed to know that his horcruxes had been destroyed, feeling that much pain, he would have noticed and searched to make sure nothing had happened to the parts of his soul!As for creating emotion, don't get me wrong, I love a good cry to a book or a movie, and I have cried many a time whilst reading (and re-reading) the Harry Potter books, but in this final film I felt nothing, except the amusement at Ron at some of the things he says. But the main parts of the book that gave anyone reason to cry; Fred Weasley's death, the way Hagrid felt at carrying the dead Harry to everyone, the noticing of the deaths of Lupin and Tonks, the scene with Harry and Dumbledore (and a few others I can't think of now), were all skipped over or missed out. Instead to be replaced by scenes just to show off the use of the computer , for example, where Voldemort and Harry are flying through the sky pulling each other's faces off after Harry said "Let's finish it how it started, together!", or when Hermione and Ron are practically dancing around the snake, when they didn't need to be, as it was a main part for the character of Neville to actually kill the snake. It would have been a lot more dramatic if it happened as it did in the book; Neville killing snake at same time as Harry jumping out of Hagrids arms (rather than doing a pathetic roll like he accidentally fell) and then Harry covering Neville with the cloak.Also, in my personal opinion, it was a major plot flaw not to show the significance of all of Voldermort's spells just missing everyone because the dying of Harry meant that he had cast the protection spell over them all like his mother had done to him all those year ago.

I'm sorely disappointed in all of the films, bits were missed where they shouldn't have been, and added where they shouldn't have been. I'm also sorely disappointed in Rowling for allowing such changes to be made; shouldn't she have seen just how significant some of the points were?I think instead of making the novels into films, they should have been made into a once-a-week television series like Charmed, where bits aren't missed out and people can see the characters grow like they were seen to do in the books.

As for the end where they needed to age the youngsters by 19 years, the only person who looked older was Ginny Weasley, the others were somehow made to look shorter than they had in the past but nothing else indicated their aging except their clothes, except Ron who I think was made to have a bald patch but I'm not entirely sure if I'm remembering that correctly.

I wouldn't recommend these films to anybody else, where as I would definitely recommend the books.I will always remember watching them, just purely for the disappointment I had in watching them.as for the others by the same director part, I havent seen other films by that director, so I can't comment.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Brillaint but still no where near as good as the book :)

I LOVE the Harry Potter series and am a really big fan, I have read all the books, watched all the films that have been out so far, and even have the PC game! And as you may have heard (and I would be very surprised if you haven't heard as there seem to be adverts everywhere and practically none stop on the TV), the final film is out in cinemas now, and with all the excitement of its release I thought that now would be a good time to review the last film that was released, number six in the series: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

The DVD I have comes on two separate discs. On one is the film itself and on the other are the film's special features. I would rate the special features very highly as I think they are very interesting and entertaining.

Now whenever I read a book before seeing the film I always find the film very disappointing. And equally whenever I read a book after I have seen a film I don't think I enjoy it as much as I would have otherwise, because I already have impressions of what all the characters are going to be like etc. Well, I read the book of this film first and the same applies.Somehow the film didn't live up to the book, maybe I expected too much, and lets face it there is so much hype around the harry potter books that realistically it would be almost impossible for the films to live up to it all.

The film is rated as 12, because it 'contains moderate threat'. There is quite a bit of swearing in the film, mainly from Ron Weasley, and to be honest I don't think this swearing was really neccessary. In fact I think the film would gave been better if he didn't swear at all. Because the things he was saying didn't really fit in with the rest of the film. Maybe the director was trying to make the characters seem older, as they are all about 17 in this film, but for me it didn't work because I do still think of them as swotty little 11 year old students. The books portray their ageing a lot better, it has to be said.

The basic story behind the film is fantastic - because it is from the book. I have to recommend reading the book before you watch this or instead of watching this. I can't recommend the film on its own but I do give the film 4 stars for the amazing storyline.Hogwarts changes for ever in this film and if you have watched all the films so far and not read the books and don't know what to expect to happen in this at all then definitely this is worth watching.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

a must see!!

As the Harry Potter films go, this is a little bit disappointing. I am a huge fan of the books, and a fan of the films, and i know that not everything in the books cannot be included into the films, but they miss out so much. When i was reading the last few chapters in the book i was captivated by the epic ending battle between the death eaters and harry potter, but that didn't even appear in the film. He is hit once and falls to the floor.

I did like the film, but it is just the few missing scenes that could of been added that would of made the film perfect. The casting is brilliant as always and the special effects are incredible. If you have seen all the other films then this is definitely a must see. I just hope that they can include most of the story of the book in the next film, Deathly Hallows, which is going to be a two parter. And i hope that the final battle scene will be as good as i imagined to be.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Solid effort in the 6th installment of Harry Potter

I seriously enjoyed this film. I may be a bit biased because I loved all 7 Harry Potter books. Not sure if this is the best one so far, but it is definitely top 3. I think they've decided to aim this at the older teens because there is definitely a lot more kissing scenes, and innuendos. that said, this is still viewable with children of any age, as, in general, there is still the fantasy element that you would expect. For £5.33 at amazon, that is an absolute bargain, and the extra features are also very enjoyable to view in my opinion, albeit there isn't that much of it. If you've never seen Harry Potter before, and want to watch the final installment, be sure to get this... and if you are an avid Harry Potter fan (like I am), then this DVD is a must buy.

Whilst some people may think that there's no point because they've read the book, therefore they know what's going to happen, the film brings out the realism from the book. Unlike other films, they haven't missed great chunks out, and they added other things which wasn't in the book, and I was particularly pleased that they decided to bring the Quidditch matches back, because that is what my 6 year old sister enjoyed the most of this film.

If you think this may be a bit to scary for your child under 12, I'd have to disagree because apart from one slightly scary part of the dead hand coming from the lake, there isn't really much else too frightening.

Overall, I totally recommend this movie.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

If your a fan you will love it but feel letdown

I love everything to do with Harry Potter but the films have always been a let down for me due to them missing so much out of them compared to the books. When i went to watch harry potter and the half blood prince i was hoping so much that this would not be the case again.

Well it did miss some aspects of the book out but not too many which i was so relivied about. Well the story of this film is all about showing how Lord Voldemort has managed to survive over the years and about what lies ahead for Mr Potter. It is a very good storyline and the tension is shown all way through the film.

The special effects on this one are very good compared to the others however one let down was the lack of fighting action that is in the film. If you've read the book you will expect to see lots of big battles yet on this there is just one.

So yes a letdown compared to the book in some ways however what can you expect when you have to fit such a huge book into 2-3hrs.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Great film!

This, the film of the pen-ultimate book, is the latest to arrive of the scene, and is definitely to trickiest to portray on film. The purpose of the book was really to explain Voldemort's life, and how he survived death after his curse backfired on Harry when he was a baby. The film has some major deviations from the book, and although some highly criticise this, doing it as the book was written would have been a long, disaster of a film. Thankfully, it wasn't!

The film is directed by David Yates, the man who did a sterling job with the film prior to this one, The Order of the Phoenix. The film has one key new teacher, Horace Slughorn played by Jim Broadbent who takes on the potion masters role, after Snape is moved to the Defense against the Dark Arts master. The story is all about Voldemort's past, and a budding romance between Harry and Ginny. The film excludes the beginning, the new minister for magic and several other key moments. However, the same emphasis comes out from the story. The end of the film has a real twist, holding to the book's plot.

This film get 5 stars, I would say number 5 was definitely better. However, this was a trickier film to make. A great film for all the family. Rated 12a.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Yet another great Harry Potter film

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and I get so excited every time a new film comes out. I was extra excited about this one when it came out at the cinema because I loved the book so much and I knew this one was meant to be a lot darker and scarier than the rest.

The sixth film in the series shows Voldemort, the evil and very powerful wizard, causing mayhem around the world, both in the wizarding and the muggle worlds. Meanwhile, Harry and Dumbledore, with the help of their friends, look deep into Vodemort's childhood to try to find a way to destroy him once and for all.

The acting was all very good and not as stiff as it can sometimes be from the young main actors, and Ron seems to make me laugh more and more in every film. The magic and special effects were, again, brilliant and it's such a fantastic fantasy film. This film is a lot darker than the others and the content of it seems to be ageing along with the characters so it's so much better compared to the first couple of films which seemed very young and innocent.

The huge fighting scene up in the Hogwart's tower at the end of the book was the only thing that disappointed me in the film. It was nowhere near as big or action-packed as I was expecting it to be and as it was in the book and this should have been one of the most exciting parts of the film.

Other than that though, I thought this was another brilliant Harry Potter film and one that proper fans will love. For those who aren't a proper fan of the series, they may find the film a bit dull as you really need to properly know everything that's happened previously to really understand and appreciate the storyline. But overall, I loved this film and can't wait for the next one.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

A slight misstep for the franchise but still heading strong, thanks to the solid cast

For the first time ever in the "Harry Potter" franchise, the teenage wizards and witches are finally getting their hormones increased, and they're running wild. Girls are obsessed with "snogging" boys, and vice versa. And because they have magic at their disposal, some of them even try to manipulate the ones they're interested in with potions and spells. Cheeky. But the leading trio of the series (Harry, Ron, Hermione), now in the sixth year, cannot be distracted too much by this sudden, plague-like spread of love-struck birds, since they have their own dark mystery to solve. Harry comes across a book that is marked "This book is the property of the Half-Blood Prince." What does this mean? Not sure yet, but this book seems to guide Harry excel at his potion class, that also teaches him some darker, more sinister magic along the way. Meanwhile Professor Snape becomes the much-cursed Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher (no one has survived for more than a film), whilst Horace Slughorn returns to Hogwarts, taking over the Potions department, bringing his fair share of secrets from the past with him. Dumbledore and Harry get cracking to solve the hidden truths behind Lord Voldemort's earlier years, in order to locate his weakness.

So it is quite obvious to see that the film has a lot of plot strands to handle. Does the director (David Yates) manage to put them well together? Not really, since the sixth outing of the Harry Potter trio is the most muddled, tonally confused one to date. To be fair, Yates had the challenge of trying to adapt one of the least interesting, least engaging books of the lot. The sixth book spends so much time trying to build up the momentum for the explosive final showdown that most of this is just talking, investigating, and solving some less than intriguing mystery. Unlike the past five films, "Half-Blood Prince" fails to have one strong plot that runs throughout the film, but chooses to split itself into two awkward halves; the first half dealing with the teenagers who are all slowly going a little mental and the rushed second half trying to wrap the film up as well as trying to build a set-up, a flimsy cliffhanger for the final two films.

What is so interesting about Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes)? He's one evil and powerful wizard yes, that's been covered endlessly and in "The Order of the Phoenix" (the fifth film) he actually had the chance to prove himself worthy of that title. But the story behind his character has been dragged on for so long that it's easy to gradually lose interest in his character altogether. Adding a deformed face to the character can definitely add an even stronger element of fear, but again, this was revealed to us in "The Goblet of Fire" (the fourth film) and so, has lost the initial impact. So Harry, still played by the less than adequate Daniel Radcliffe, trying so hard to get to the bottom of the sinister plot around him is tiresome at best, and especially with hardly any action, the narrative ceases to be at all exhilarating.

There is however, a fair amount of comedy that tries to make up for the loss of anything truly fascinating. Everyone's falling in love, some pairings are simply absurd, the jealousy, and the desperate competitors going to extraordinary measures do provide a healthy amount of laughter, putting a lighter, more free-spirited spin on the franchise. It finally feels that Hogwarts is in fact accommodated by a bunch of teenagers who misbehave, experiment and are high on hormones. It's a slight detour from what we're used to, but the students have grown up, they're no longer the small, cute little kids who we saw in "The Philosopher's Stone" (the first film) and it would be odd to ignore their adolescent years.

The three main actors (Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) have come a long way and throughout the years they have thankfully improved, most possibly by working side-by-side with an array of endless British talent that forms the supporting cast. Watson has the intelligence and charm that her character requires and although it's a shame to see her caught up more in the teenage drama than in the actual magic plot, we can all breathe a sigh of relief seeing Watson pull it off quite comfortably. Grint, who has been used frequently in the past as a comic relief has no problem getting himself tangled up in a complicated love triangle. Radcliffe does seem to improve with every film he completes, but he's not and never will be a solid leading man and even on his sixth feature film playing the title character, some of his line delivery can be immensely awkward and he's not all that good at playing serious.

But once again it's the supporting cast that steals the show. Alan Rickman is consistently amazing as Snape, a cold, distant, darkly comic professor, Maggie Smith, despite her brief appearance has her moments, Michael Gambon is once again excellent as Dumbledore and the newest addition to the cast, Jim Broadbent, cast as Slughorn is simply brilliant - a nerdy, timid-looking guy, but in fact a lot more secretive and yes, "darker" than he appears to be.

Something that should have a lot more profound effect is the final few scenes, where Harry has to go through the unthinkable, witnessing something awful. But disappointingly, the heart-wrenching emotion isn't portrayed well here, not purely because Radcliffe struggles to show a wide range of facial expressions. The moment is rushed past, and it feels as though the director could and should have milked the scene a little bit more. But perhaps because he spent way too much time focusing on the first half and its messy romance plot, he was running out of time to put an end to things neatly. The film as a whole feels a little too disjointed and the narrative is unquestionably all over the place but the fact remains: was it possible for the penultimate film to be anything else than a slightly disappointing, eventless build-up for what's to come? Not really. Hopefully this is just a minor glitch, a one-off event that was inevitable to get us prepared for the real, visually spectacular action blockbuster, "The Deathly Hallows."

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

An almost perfect addition to the series that sucks you into the world of wizardry

Harry and co come of age in the sixth installment of the Harry Potter series. The action starts with an impressive flight through London from a Death Eaters perspective and doesn't slow down from there on in. Staying to true to the book series while changing things to make it fit the big screen better this film is an epic that sets the scene perfectly for the final film in the series. However if you haven't read any of the books you might find some of this film very confusing as it moves at such a pace that things such as apparition are barely explained. Also some of the acting is very stodgy, particurarly the portrayal of Ginny Weasley who now has none of the fun that is seen in the book and becomes a characture of boredem as she delivers her lines with no interest. Too much focus was put on the romance in this film and this detracts from the darkness of the film.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

refer to review

I love the Harry Potter series. While I have to admit that I love the books more than the films, there are certain movies that were really insightful and profound- and true to the book's essence. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is one of them. When I went to watch this film with my friends, I was sobbing so hard that people kept turning to hush me up and my friends got slightly embarrassed to be seen with me! Thing is, this movie is my favourite in all the series, mainly because of the intense poignancy of it all. I really do believe that they did a fantastic job in capturing the feelings that are highlighted in the book.

Harry is reading a newspaper in a Muggle café and soon catches the eye of a beautiful Muggle waitress. They make plans to meet at eleven; plans that will never be etched because Harry suddenly spies Dumbledore standing outside the café. He goes to meet him and is taken to convince one of Dumbledore's old friend to join the Hogwarts staff. Soon, it's time for another adventure back at Hogwarts. But this year, Harry learns that he will have special lessons with Dumbledore concerning something very important. Meanwhile, the danger exerted by Lord Voldermort's steady rise to power is looming over them...Harry soon discovers that Draco Malfoy is also hiding something....

The acting was really, really good. I think that the best performance was delivered by Tom Felton who plays Draco Malfoy. I was really stunned by the high standard of acting, and amazing impact that this actor had over the plot. Draco has a somewhat different role in this film, and I think that the actor rose up to expectations marvelously. Indeed, I personally believe that he manages to show that he can step out from the role of the classical villain-bully and embrace a deeper, and more insightful role. I would even say that for me, Tom Felton came close to overshadowing Daniel Radcliffe- which I think he would have done, had it not been for the obvious fact that Harry Potter is the central protagonist, and more emphasis was therefore laid upon Radcliffe. The rest of the cast was as brilliant as usual, I can barely see any flaws with their performances. But Tom Felton, was according to me, the best actor in this film.

The film does differ from the book in terms of plot. There are some risky alterations in terms of plot, and I do believe that some of these changes were quite unnecessary to the film. I cannot fathom why the Director wanted to introduce new elements to the plot, when he could simply have saved time and added new elements from the book to the film. However, this film is still worthy of five stars because of the outstanding performances and fantastic flow of it all. The film is quite lengthy, and while some book elements were left out, the runtime meant that the pace was quite relaxed and leisurely. I believe that this is a positive element because the plot was quite dark and intense and had the pace been too rapid as was the case with previous Harry Potter films, I don't think that I would have been able to get so involved in the movie.

I was quite in awe of the special effects. I remember that when reading the book, I kept wondering how they could depict certain effects in the film, and I was pleasantly surprised that many scenes were quite like I had I personally imagined in my head, during my reading of the book. In fact, I would say that the most impressive scenes are those that occur during the climax- and slightly after. I first caught the film in theatre before watching it again on my DVD; and I would say that even if the film had been an awful one, I would still have gotten my ticket's worth for watching the special effects in cinema. Move along, 2012- what I saw in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was really more impressive to me.

I really recommend this film to you. Apart from the central plot of the book, the film also manages to capture a great deal of romanticism and humor, which according to me, serves to enhance certain happenings. The one thing that I wished could have been different was the ending, but the whole movie moved me so much that I personally wasn't really affected by the different ending. This is definitely one of the most intense Harry Potter films I've ever watched.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Watch the ones they're showing on TV for free instead; they're much all the same really

'Harry Potter & the Half-blood Prince'- is the sixth instalment and penultimate book - although I understand they're divvying up the final one into two films, presumably just to squeeze the last few drops of milk out of this particular cash-cow, so-to-speaking - in JK Rowling's hugely popular boy-wizard series of kids' adventures.

They'd better hurry up and finish shooting those final films, is the first thing I'd say having seen 'Half Blood Prince' because Daniel Radcliffe, the young actor who plays Harry Potter is growing up fast a-pace. Although in actuality he is still quite young, in this film he is still supposed to be at school but is beginning to resemble one of those late-20 to 30-year olds who appear as school kids half their actual age in all those American soaps we get on TV here (Buffy, The OC, Gossip Girl, etc. etc. etc.)

The next comment I'd make is that from the moment the film began I felt I was knuckling down for a long-haul viewing experience, and it wasn't an entirely pleasant state of mind to be in when watching a DVD ostensibly for recreational purposes. There are certain hoops to be jumped through in sequence with all Harry Potter films, I find (strangely this applies a lot less to the books although the films always follow the book storylines quite faithfully); first we have the scenes with Harry's life in the non-wizarding world, then a transition into the wizarding world in London complete with bright and colourful characters / shops and so on, then Harry & co. are on the train to school, next there are a few scenes surrounding their arrival at Hogwarts, then an inevitable sorting-hat sequence to be gotten through, and so on. At some point well after this the actual plot of the film begins to kick in properly, but then again the storyline generally conforms to a well-worn template involving scenes in the dining room, a bloody special-effects-laden Quidditch match, visits to the Weasley family's home over Christmas, etc.

Oh god. Notwithstanding that there is an awful lot of good stuff in the latest film, honest to goodness, by this point I really feel that I've seen it all before. I suppose it doesn't help that ITV are screening all the 'Harry Potter' that've been on TV already in order, at the moment, because that just highlights the fact that if you've seen one of them, you've seen them all.

And I'm afraid this very much applies to 'Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince' - which actually, I just - stopped watching sometime around the point where Bellatrix (played by a wonderfully psychotic Helena Bonham-Carter) sets the Weasley's house on fire. I resumed watching just to see the bit at the end where -

(A discretionary gap for the benefit of anyone who has any interest in Harry Potter and yet who has somehow managed not to know how this film turns out and who doesn't want to be 'spolied'-)

Snape zaps Dumbledore off the top of the Astronomy Tower and then legs it off into the night.

But even 'Snape's big scene' was a terrible disappointment, as the (in every other respect than this) wonderful Alan Rickman is clearly fed up to the back teeth with playing Professor Snape and underplayed his part to the point of practically having 'phoned the performance in.

One point about the DVD itself that particularly annoyed me is that as the first (film) disc begins to play, it goes STRAIGHT into an advertisement for a Harry Potter video game, which I found inordinately unacceptable. (A glossy sales insert that comes with the discs also tries to flog you a load of incredibly shameless Harry-Potter-based memorabilia - gold plated reproductions of props from the film; a model of Voldemort's wand, etc. - this last item no doubt coming soon to the personal collection of the samurai-sword fantasist who lives next door to you out in Muggle-land. Now, even bearing in mind we have a whole host of film-of-Lord-of-the-Rings tat at our house and it was me that bought almost all of it, I have to say that some of this Harry Potter stuff is really beyond the bounds of good taste).

As for the DVD I got my 2-disc version for a fiver in Tesco, listed it on Ebay before I'd finished watching it and off-loaded it onto some poor unsuspecting soul for just over £3 following a three-day auction. I'd say this is exactly the right way to deal with a film franchise like this.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Give it a miss unless your a massive fan!

I used to be quite a fan of Harry Potter when I was younger. I certainly wasn't the over-the-top kind of fan, the ones who would camp outside W H Smith to be the first to get their hands on the latest book. Although I did read all the books and see a few of the movies. I remember after seeing the Goblet of Fire film , I went off the movies a bit as they weren't how I had expected them to be like from what I had read in the books and so didn't watch any of the movies after that. However, the other night , my friend invited me over to hers for a 'girlie night in' and said that she would pick up a DVD on her way home. Unknown to me , it was Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince DVD. Despite going off the other movies , I still decided to watch this movie. After all , I had read all the books and so it wasn't like I was going to 'not get it' because I hadn't seen the other two movies.

Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince is the sixth film in the Harry Potter series of films and was released in the United Kingdom in July 2009. Good news for all you Daniel Radcliffe/Emma Watson/Rupert Grint fans as the trio make a return in this movie.Running time of this movie one hundred and fifty three minutes (two hours and a half long!!) This movie is a twelve which means that it should be watched by persons under the age of twelve.

To cut a long story short ,I will tell you the main key plots of the film. Harry is convinced that enemy Dracoy Malfoy is a death eater. Professor Dumbledore gives Harry some private lessons to prepare him for what lies ahead and also reveals the dark secrets of Voldermot's past. Although there are a lot of scary things happening around them , Harry , Ron and Hermoine try to continue with their day-to-day-life. What will happen ? Watch Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince to find out!

Although I realise that the plot is very far fetched , I was very disappointed with this movie as it was just too-far fetched for my liking. The books have the ability to make you believe that this kind of stuff is real life and not at all fictional (even though it is). With the first few movies , although it is fictional , with all the magic and things going on, it does come across as believeable. I understand that as the movies go on , they get more 'magical' and so need more technical stuff , but to me it was more like watching a 'cartoon' or 'animated' film than what it's supposed to be. I know it sounds like I am saying that this movie is too 'unreal' , but what I mean is that when I watched the first and second movies , although there was magic in them , they were made to look real , and the settings were real and their lives looked real , however with this movie everything just seems to be too over the top and so I find it hard to believe (even though it is a movie!).I understand that the Director has changed since the first few movies , and for me , I feel that the quality of the movies have decreased! Everthing seems so rushed and 'anyhow'.Please bring back the old director!! (or is it too late ?!)

Something else which I feel disappointed with is that major parts of the story were ignored or only used as 'minor' stories in the film. I can imagine how hard it is to create a film and understand that you cannot possibly include every tiny detail , but if you're going to make a movie then at least do it properly , keeping the main parts of the book. There were some big parts which I was looking forward to see , such as the scene with Dumbledore's hand in the movie , but they were just 'small scenes'. Everything just seems to be so rushed and if I am honest , I had expected the movies to get better and better , not worse and worse.

Despite the Harry Potter series starting off as children's entertainment , this movie is just not suitable for youngsters. Even I was 'scared' in some places watching this and I am seven years over the minimum age for this movie , so a child would definetely be frightened. Another reason why this film isn't really suitable for children is the fact that it's very long ; I struggled to stay still for two and a half hours and became slightly bored , never mind a child. The plot is also really slow and a lot of the time scenes don't really lead any where and so it just complicates the plot , so children might not be able to keep up with it and understand it.

Another thing which I didn't like about the film was the fact that it was very dark (not just dark as in 'argh! scary' , but as in dark as in , so dark you couldn't see much which was a shame as sometimes it was hard to see what exactly was going on in the scene.

There are some great characters in the film along with some great acting from all of the cast , however for me , I feel that the actors who should really get some credit are Tom Felton who plays Draco Malfoy and the two young lads who played the younger versions of Voldermot (oh my god! I just said his name!!). I feel that Daniel Radcliffe gets all the attention (I know he is THE Harry Potter), and it's a shame that the more minor actors don't get much praise , after all , they helped create the movies just as much as Radcliffe did.

Unless you are a massive Harry Potter fan , then I wouldn't really recommend this film to you , unless you've seen the rest or read the books and want to know what happens , although it's not a great movie ; I certainly wasn't impressed with it.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Perhaps more exciting if you haven't read the books

I've been a Harry Potter fan since the first book was released back in 1997. In my opinion each new book was better than its previous one, and I couldn't wait to watch the film versions when they came out. To my delight, the film releases also got better with each release....until however the Half-Blood Prince was released.

The acting and visual effects have come on in leaps and bounds since the first film. You can now watch the movies without cringing (too much) at the acting skills of the younger folks in the film. The effects that the story lines demanded have also been met with flying colours, namely the scene with Dumbledore and Harry retrieving the horcrux.

The problem with this film, as is the case with many films based on books with a huge fan base, is that it deviates from the storyline. Not just a bit, but horribly so. I won't spoil the film too much for any who haven't seen it, but the biggest disappointment was the ending. In the book, a huge fight scene erupts, however the director decided this wasn't worth shooting.

I watched this film in the cinema, and personally I thought it was pretty bland all the way through, usually films have their peaks and troughs as it follows the story line, reaching exciting points then tapering down. But I knew that there was a huge fight scene to look forward to at the end. I was pretty annoyed that this turned out to be a quick 5 minute job involving no fighting what so ever. I'm at a loss as to why the director chose to cut this out...who in the world DOESN'T want to see a huge wizard spell fight?!

In summary the film looks good, and it sticks loosely to the plot of the book...but compared to its prequels this is a pretty bland film.

Comments

Product Details

Adolescent wizard-in-training Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts for another year of schooling and learns more about the dark past of the boy who grew up to become Lord Voldemort in this, the sixth instalment of the film series that originated from the writings of author J.K. Rowling. There was a time when Hogwarts was thought of as a safe haven, but thanks to Voldemort's tightening grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, that simply isn't the case anymore. Suspecting that the castle may even harbour an outright threat, Harry finds his investigation into the matter sidelined by Dumbledore's attempts to prepare him for the monumental battle looming ever closer on the horizon. In order to discover the key to Voldemort's defences, Dumbledore enlists the aid of resourceful yet unsuspecting bon vivant Professor Horace Slughorn, who may have a clue as to their enemy's Achilles' heel. Meanwhile, teenage hormones cause the students at Hogwarts to lose focus on their true mission. As Harry and Dean Thomas clash for the affections of the lovely Ginny, Romilda Vane attempts to woo Ron away from Lavender Brown with some particularly tasty chocolates. Even Hermione isn't immune from the love bug, though she tries her hardest to suppress her growing jealousy and keep her emotions bottled up. But there is one student who remains completely aloof from the romance blossoming all around, and he intends to leave a dark impression on his classmates. With tragedy looming ever closer, it begins to appear as if peace will prove elusive in Hogwarts for some time to come.